Ziringu IV
Ziringu IV (b. 519 BC) was the 209th King of Elam and 163rd Emperor of Chedorlaomer reigning in Outer Elam 498-448 BC. He was the second son of Emperor Hishbesh II and succeeded afer the assassination of his elder brother Ummanunu IX in 498 BC. After ascending the throne he bravely defended his temporary capital of Kar-Inshushinak from Attara-gamil of Elymais, beating him back and crushing his siege force by 497 BC. Emperor Ziringu spent the next seven years retaking territory taken by Elymais as well as expanding his territorial domains, founding the cities of Dur-Tartaq and Kar-Tartaq in 495 and 493 BC, named after his personal deity, Tartaq. In 496 he completed the Temple of Tartaq at Kar-Inshushinak and then built secondary temples in the cities dedicated to the deity. In 494 he raided Pharsana and killed the Pharsanan puppet King Uppamma II. In 492 he attacked the Elymais city of Kar-Halpuruš and conquered it by 491, using it as a base to besiege Dur-Lurak-lukhkhan, which fell to him by 490, Elymais King Attara-gamil being killed during the siege. In 489 he took the Elymais city of Dur-Attara-gamil and by 486 he conquered the majority of those cities which fell to Elymais in the decade before his own ascension. In 485 he retook Chorochoad, naming his brother Gurinzu I as King of Chorochod. In 484 he founded the city of Kar-Gurinzu. In 483 he attacked Biyt, killing King Abarg II. In 482 he besieged the new Elymais stronghold of Dur-Adda-Manka, defeating the force of the new Biytian King Ankala I sent to aid the Elymais King Adda-Manka I. In 480 Adda-Manka I besieged Ziringu's capital Kar-Inshushinak, and was only defeated thanks to the timely aid of Gurinzu I's force from Chorochoad. In 478 a conspiracy to submit to the Elymais King as Emperor and to murder Ziringu, lead by Dagunir Mar Kurdašu Elalashakiri, was discovered and thwarted. The retaliation against the Elalashakiri family lead to a civil war in the city of Kar-Inshushinak that lasted until the peace of 477. During this time the Elymais had retaken Kar-Halpuruš and conquered Kar-Gurinzu, with the Emperor only managing to retake these by 475 BC. In 473 he lead another invasion into Pharsana, killing King Hanaka I. He managed to retain control of the city and instal Hanaka's brother Haraiva III as his own puppet king. The Biytians besieged Pharsana together with the Elymais in 472 but Ziringu, with the aid of Haraiva's supporters, managed to beat them back, as well as during a second siege in 471. In 470 he founded the city of Dur-Tartaq-Ziringu. In 469 he subdued another noble revolt, this time lead by certain members of the Šapashakiri Clan. In 468 he defeated Adda-Manka I's force which attempted to retake Dur-Attara-gamil. In 466 he then proceeded to invade the Elymais capital of Dur-Halpuruš, killing King Adda-Manka I during the siege in 465. Although he was repelled by Adda-Manka's son Halpuruš II in late 465, he still strenghtened his hold on Elymais territory. In 464 he then conquered Dur-Adda-Manka and defended Kar-Halpuruš from Halpuruš II's forces. In 463 following Haraiva III's death he installed Haraiva's son Bara II as his puppet ruler in Pharsana. This resulted in a siege by Biyt that lasted until 462 but was eventually repelled. In 461 the Elymais attacked Chorochoad, killing Ziringu's brother King Gurinzu I. Enraged, Ziringu, after establishing a powerful enough force to defend Chorocoad, marched on Dur-Halpuruš and besieged it. During the siege the Emperor's forces captured and killed King Halpuruš II's brother Upu-halir. In 460 Halpuruš II flead his capital and retired to his new stronghold of Kar-Adda-Manka. The Emperor raided Dur-Halpuruš and then marched on Kar-Adda-Manka. The city was besieged until 459 when an attack on Pharsana and Chorochoad by the Biytians foces him to retreat. He defeated and killed Biytian King Ankala I at Pharsana and then marched unopposed to Chorochoad, where he belatedly installed Gurinzu's son Hali-inšušinak I as King. In 458 he attacked Biyt, but his force was surrounded by that of new Biytian King Šahrab IV and the Emperor's force was decimated, the Emperor himself barely escaping with his life. Fearful of the Emperor's worsening health, a conspiracy by the Lalarushakiri resulted in an attempted assassination in 457, which in turn lead to another short civil war, ended by Ziringu IV with another peace in 456. In 455 Dur-Halpuruš was reconquered by the Elymais King Halpuruš II, while Dur-Attara-gamil was conquered by Biytian King Šahrab IV in 454. This lead to a dispute and war between the allies and this allowed Ziringu, now well advanced in years, to retake Dur-Halpuruš in 454, but his siege of Dur-Attara-gamil was repelled in 453 without success. Šahrab IV then besieged Ziringu's capital Kar-Inshushinak in 452, and was only forced to retire after Halpuruš II retook Dur-Attara-gamil from the Biytians. In 451 Ziringu defended Pharsana from Šahrab, however the city fell to the Biytians in 450. Following it's fall Šahrab united both cities into the single Kingdom of Arachosia. In 449 then besieged Chorochoad, conquering it by 448 BC, with Šahrab ordering the execution of Chorocoad's Elamite King Hali-inšušinak. Ziringu attempted to assemble a force to retake Chorochoad, but died in 448 BC before it could set out. He was succeeded by his son Haimbia III.